Emanuel, Quinn and Durbin honor veterans at Soldier Field

November 11, 2011|By John Byrne | Clout Street

A view from above of Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaking during a Veterans Day ceremony held at Soldier Field today. ((Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune))

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today marked what he called "a different kind of Veteran's Day," urging Chicagoans to honor the small number of volunteers who have allowed the rest of America to remain safe and free.

Emanuel, Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and other officials attended the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the statue of a World War I doughboy at the south end of Soldier Field. The mayor called veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq "the top 1 percent," in a reference to the bank officials who have drawn the ire of protesters in Occupy Chicago, Occupy Wall Street and other groups around the country.

"We hear a lot today about the 1 percent," Emanuel said to a crowd that included many veterans. "I want to talk to you about a different 1 percent. They're the top 1 percent in more ways than money. They are the 1 percent that have protected the other 99 percent."

In American military entanglements prior to those in Iraq and Afghanistan, Emanuel said, the country "went all in."

"But today, 99 percent of us are kept free, kept secure and kept safe by just 1 percent, and never has so much been asked of so few. If we as a nation choose war, a nation must go to war. Not just 1 percent," he said.

Quinn said the best way to pay tribute to veterans is to make sure they can find support when they come home.

"I think it is very important for all of us, the living, to take good care of all of those who have borne the battle, to make sure they have good education and a good G.I. bill of rights when they come home, to make sure they have decent health care, and Veteran's Administration health care that's always there for those who've been wounded in battle," Quinn said.

"All of us must work together on the home front to provide good jobs, good-paying jobs, for those who have borne the battle," Quinn said.